Electric Meat, 2026.
Written and Directed by Dan Schaffer.
Starring Caspian Faye, Emily Booth, Nina Coulson, Jasmine Sumner, and Sylvia Soska.
SYNOPSIS:
A photographer’s reality begins to unravel when he takes on a murdered model as his muse.
A truly singular piece, Electric Meat creates a stark psychosexual nightmare in expressionistic tones. Beautifully put together in an artful context, the film is an imaginative take on the creative impulse.
There are hints of Lynch-style industrial movements in there as well, with searing mechanical sounds and posters displaying the garish underbelly of exploitation in the modelling industry. When these scenes give way to moments of ambient tranquillity, the peace never lasts for long, and the film sets out its stall as a nerve-wracking exercise. It is certainly more of an artistic movement than a genre horror movie. There is true horror here, and it is horror that has been put through an expressionistic filter with shades of surrealism. The character who shifts in and out of death (Nina Coulson). The photographer (Caspian Faye) who is unable to satisfy his urges with just images. The ex-model landlady (Emily Booth) who is desperate for another chance at fame. All of these characters perform a choreographed dance of melancholy interspersed with moments of gore.
Written and directed by Dan Schaffer, the film focuses on Caspian Faye’s photographer, who has a day job as a butcher. His life starts to turn into a nightmare when he discovers the corpse of one of his former models. Shocked but intrigued by the idea of making use of the body in his work, he is drawn to the possibilities. As he ruminates about the ideas and finally decides to keep her body in his studio, the model begins to flit between life and death.
This idea is framed as a kind of ‘Schrödinger’s Cat’ theory, where the process of posing the model and taking photographs is one state, and a live and unpredictable wraith is the other. The butcher becomes more afraid and unsure what to do. As this tension builds up, the butcher’s landlady (Emily Booth) joins the odd set-up. Drawn to the orbit of the butcher’s work, she holds another dangerous risk for him to look out for.
Electric Meat is certainly way out there as a film. The experimental style is great to see as something different, and playing to a festival crowd should open doorways for it to be appreciated by more. It’s hard to call it a ‘movie’ as such, as it is definitely more of an arthouse experimental piece. But if you are looking for a weird outing focusing on obsession and paranoia with flashes of stark fear and dread, this should be on your radar.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert W Monk
